Summer Update - 025

[QuothTheRaven]

Let's not judge Wanda too harshly.

Whether or not Stanley is a colossal boophead, the fact remains that Wanda is not to be trusted. I am leaving a standing prediction that she will attempt to form a side. You can already tell from the summer updates that since acquiring her Arkenpliers, she has all but ignored her fellows, except to demonstrate her newfound power.

[Slowness]

So where is this Ken Dollamancer?

I've been wondering that myself, as well as where he came from. Seeing as Hamster hasn't met him, I'm thinking the most likely possibilities are that he was:

A. Popped after the battle was over.
B. An enemy unit that was decrypted by Wanda.
C. A friendly unit that was decrypted by Wanda, that Hamster never got to meet before the battle.
D. A barbarian spell-slinger for hire from the Magic Kingdom.


I'm kind of leaning towards freshly popped or a freshly hired barbarian, because I'm not so sure Maggie would refer to a decrypted unit as a "Lovely Man". We haven't really seen any decrypted units with speaking parts besides Ansom yet, have we? I wonder if they all share the same ideology...

Hmm, I wonder what those pikers saluting them would have to say. As loathsome as Stanly is, you do have to give him some credit. He started as a piker when he first popped. I wonder how many battles and how much experience, and how many levels he had to gain, and therefore how many times he had to face, and narrowly avoid death to rise in rank to the point of becoming the ruler of his own side... I don't think there is a level cap either, so even potentially the weakest unit on a side could gain enough power to completely negate the power gap between their starting power, and that of units that are fairly powerful upon popping.

[Jallorn]

On another note, about the decrypted units:
I've always considered a decrypted unit to be to the uncroaked, what a demon is to be to the undead.

The undead are generally mindless, malleable, and easily controlled.
A demon is generally a strong willed, traitorous, and self serving liar, and though can usually be controlled by the magics that summoned them in most universes, especially if it's a weak demon, I can't help but remembering a few stories where a very powerful demon breaks the bond that holds it or finds a mistake in a summoning circle meant to hold them, and almost instantly goes from being the slave to the master after finding that fatal mistake.

I am not sure if it's a stretch or not, but Decrypted Ansom apologized to Hamster initially, and was a bit of a suck up. But when Stanly talked to Hamster, referencing a conversation he had with Ansom, not everything Ansom had to say was positive. I'm thinking Ansom is trying to weasel himself into some sort of position for a power-play, and the weaker uncroaked are all going to follow him.

Also, if Wanda is to be believed, these "decrypted" units are the first ever created in Erfworld. I am thinking there is some sort of extreme unrealized disadvantage associated with them due to traitorous, self-serving intent, which would make the zero-cost upkeep that much less appealing. Maybe the units weren't revived at all, but were simply regenerated, and are now inhabited by some before-now unknown demonic spirit? Or an entirely new one is created for each unit, making them that much "different"?

Or even nastier, regenerated and 'dominated', but re-inhabited with the same possessed memories as previous, and same intentions. So you've got an unwilling slave, who is forced to do as you say. And as Parson pointed out less than five strips after he showed up... there's a *LOT* of wiggle room in how one interprets orders...

Perhaps more like the Goa'uld. Retaining the memories of the "host" but with a different agenda and personality.

[Catbus]

So where is this Ken Dollamancer?

At the Dollastore, I bet.

[Slowness]

Heeey, I just thought of something. Maybe what is needed to attune yourself to an Arkentool is simply a level limit. Stanly probably gained a lot of levels rising up the ranks from a lowly and expendable piker, and Wanda has at least a little bit of training in every school of magic, which would probably need quite a bit of experience to pull off.

Hmm, Jillian has exposed herself to enough unnecessary battles to gain a good amount of experience, apparently losing quite a few... And if it weren't for Wanda ordering her captured instead of killed, so she could control Jillian with thinkamancy, she would probably be dead... If Arkentools can only be attuned to people of a certain level and higher, I say Jillian might be eligible.

[QuothTheRaven]

So where is this Ken Dollamancer?

At the Dollastore, I bet.

Chuck Norris approves.

[gameboy1234]

A good bit of long-awaited info; I especially appreciate the details about clothing and the city livery. ("Ken" - ha!!)

I totally missed that. Now I have to go play some Aqua.

[MarbitChow]

Heeey, I just thought of something. Maybe what is needed to attune yourself to an Arkentool is simply a level limit.

If that were the case, Ansom (Level 10) would almost certainly be attuned to them.
He's one of the highest-level characters introduced, and as a Royal, he levels faster than other units.

It's possible that Stanley was higher level than Ansom was when he first found the 'Pliers, but it's unlikely.

[Spot]

Let's not judge Wanda too harshly.

Whether or not Stanley is a colossal boophead, the fact remains that Wanda is not to be trusted. I am leaving a standing prediction that she will attempt to form a side. You can already tell from the summer updates that since acquiring her Arkenpliers, she has all but ignored her fellows, except to demonstrate her newfound power.

Not to be trusted... by Stanley. Which, all things considered, merely means that she is sane.

As for ignoring her fellows... she's no doubt busy in high-level meetings with Stanley and Stanley's newest-in-a-long-series prettyboy Chief Warlord, attempting to manipulate Stanley into giving orders that aren't completely insane, and making him think that the non-insane orders were his idea in the first place.

If I were in Parson's place I'd be thanking my lucky stars that Wanda was there to do the job of keeping Stanley occupied, leaving the others free to go about their (my) business.

In fact, if I were (a) in Parson's place, and (b) somewhat sneaky , I'd *really* be thanking my lucky stars that Ansom, Wanda, and Stanley were elsewhere, while I solidified my hold of genuine non-thinkamancy personal loyalty upon Maggie and Sizemore.

Thinking as a hypothetical sneaky person in Parson's place: Someday, Maggie will be in a position to do another "Misty", and when that day comes, I'd want her to (a) be personally loyal to me and hold my interests in high esteem, and (b) be somewhat distant and estranged from both Wanda and Stanley... so that if push ever came to shove, it wouldn't be me that got shoved.

Anyway... I was simply trying to think of the situation logically, from the POV of someone who was there.

[Spot]

So where is this Ken Dollamancer?

In the Magic Kingdom.

[QuothTheRaven]

Anyway... I was simply trying to think of the situation logically, from the POV of someone who was there.

My point of view is that anyone who is willing to betray her loyalties once, will most certainly betray them again.

[gameboy1234]

What was described as dangerous, unpredictable, and costly in the beginning is now being used more and more. Is it possible there is an addictive element to the caster's link? And if so, is it perhaps possible that the casters will find it easier and easier to do it as time goes on?

I'd guess that either Maggie is getting better at linking thanks to her experience (similar to your last idea), or that linking with one other caster is trivial and often done. Thinkmancers seems "command and control" units anyway, I wonder if a common use for Thinkmancers is to link with one other caster (or unit?) and make them temporarily "better" at what they do. Hence, even though it was for a fairly trivial purpose (making the city look nicer) it was easy and safe to do.

Hopefully the next update or two will clear this up.

[gameboy1234]

So where is this Ken Dollamancer?

In the Magic Kingdom.

I think it's interesting that casters in the Magic Kingdom seem to help each other willingly and independently of their side's wishes and best interests. Wouldn't it have been better for all other sides if Maggie had to break her link un-aided? Yet she got help for free (well, paid for by Janis, but in rands, not schmuckers).

[Menlo Marseilles]

RE: the discussion of "city designed by a linked Sizemore and Maggie"... I just assumed they designed the new city during the destruction of the old one. When all three of them were linked. Couldn't Sizemore have just taken that vision away with him and applied it when the city really *was* rebuilt?

[Slowness]

That encounter in the Magic Kingdom definitely had some mysterious things going on.
Like when Janis asked for a master class thinkamancer to untangle the link, the thinkamancer who accepted the offer called in 4 other thinkamancers to help at "no charge" and got the caster who recognized Sizemore to shut up before he could finish saying his name.

I am wondering why sizemore got so much goodwill from him, why he thought identifying sizemore in front of the crowd was such a bad idea, and "who" that thinkamancer actually was... Something we probably don't know about Sizemore...

And Hamster got to see none of it, due to being unconscious nearly the entire time...

[Fcannon]

why he thought identifying sizemore in front of the crowd was such a bad idea.

Sizemore was in a link; hearing his name would make breaking it more dangerous.

[Frogpop]

why he thought identifying sizemore in front of the crowd was such a bad idea.

Sizemore was in a link; hearing his name would make breaking it more dangerous.

Yep, the Misty Effect.

[mhangman]

why u say demonic to decrypt power? its titan's tools. and they create the world. they should be good so its an angelic power

[moose o death]

nothing says the tool decrypts units. the tool allows wanda to decrypt units. in anyone elses hands who knows what it could do. the bit were ansom mentions it's useful against uncroaked is a red herring. read the text again page 22 from memory...we've had this conversation before.

red herring or foreshadowing even, but definitely NOT 100% certain croakamancy artifact. just really good at killing ergo it kills uncroaked really well. put your head in a giant pair of needle nose pliers and see how you handle it.

it seems GK side is really reserved and holds back on trying to be flashy and outgoing. maggie hasn't bought a new outfit in quite a long time and is only doing so now because the city has been changed, sizemore still has his red tunic, stanley doesn't like having livery. wanda has a costume change everytime the wind changes direction. as does jillian admittedly for different reasons it would seem. not sure on jack.

project parson anyone?

[BarGamer]

nothing says the tool decrypts units. the tool allows wanda to decrypt units. in anyone elses hands who knows what it could do. the bit where ansom mentions it's useful against uncroaked is a red herring. read the text again page 22 from memory...we've had this conversation before.

http://www.erfworld.com/book-1-archive/?px=%2F022.jpg

You saying that the ArkenPliers are not Croakamancy-aligned so much as FATE-aligned? The fact that Croakamancy lies on the Fate axis is just Wanda's lucky break or Predictamancy, as the case may be? As for whether or not the ArkenPliers have a bonus against uncroaked in particular is a red herring... I dunno.

Unless and until we see the ArkenPliers, or any of the ArkenTools fall into the hands of another caster who's specialty lies on the Fate axis, I'll go with Occam's Razor and take it at face value. (I'd still like to see confirmation of Sizemore's ArkenShovel (the sparklies!) or conclusive evidence of the ArkenSaw. XD)

[Wild Speculation]Big Al is a Superfluous Elf, not a Transylvitan.[/speculation]